Countdown To The Chase: Bristol

            Just a few of the 155,000+ fans in attendance cheering on during the race.

Alas, The Chase continues to creep closer and closer, but the Sprint Cup Drivers are focusing on one thing as we speak: Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Bristol is known as the World-Fastest Half-Mile, which is why the track's nickname became "Thunder Valley". Sounds like a name for a place of chaos and destruction doesn't it? Well, you wouldn't be wrong. As a matter of fact, you know what lead to such mayhem? Driver's tempers. 

This track is famous for making drivers tick. Irony is, Thursday's night truck race already displayed this. Around midpoint of this race, the #18 of Kyle Busch was turned into the outside wall by the #24 of Elliot Sadler. Kyle thought the wreck was intentional and waited to return the favor on Elliot. Despite the retaliation, Sadler finished 9th while Kyle finish 30th. Let the pandemonium begin as only one driver will come out on top.

Favorites

Kyle Busch

             Busch celebrating last year's night race by leading 283 of the 500 laps.

I just mentioned him didn't I? What I didn't mention is that he has dominated by winning 4 of the last 5 here. Don't even get me started with his numbers in Nationwide and Truck. "Wild Thing" is going for his third straight night race win and considering his past success here, he has to be the runaway favorite. Only three of his 13 Sprint Cup starts at Bristol result outside of the top 10. Don't expect it to be four. The track is for aggressive drivers and he is a perfect example of one. Now you see why he enjoys this place so much.

Jimmie Johnson

"The Dominator" has greatly improved at "Thunder Valley" to the extent that makes him a favorite in my books. Johnson has led in the his last five Bristol starts with one win and three more top 10's. It's safe to say JJ has figured this track out. Expect Johnson to be a threat to end Kyle Busch's dominance at Bristol. After all, he is the only one to beat Kyle in this Bristol streak of his.

Carl Edwards

Carl had a rough race last week by finishing 36th. He only has one win this season and wouldn't you think at some point, Carl would rack up another. Bristol is a good track for him to attempt win No. 2. He won the night race in 2008 as well as being a runner-up to Kyle in this year's spring race. He is starting on the front row. Look for Carl to contend for the trophy at night's end with Kyle and Jimmie.

Darkhorses

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

            Junior celebrating his lone Bristol win in 2004.

This track has been very good to Junior. He has an average finish of 11.5 in 23 starts. Junior is 10th in points and is looking to get that elusive win to end his long winless streak. This is his best shot to do so in a while. Don't be surprised if Dale Jr. breaks his way to Victory Lane tonight.

Kevin Harvick

As I stated, Bristol is a track for aggressive drivers. "Happy" fits in that category. He has a win here in the spring of 2005. He won the truck race Thursday night too. Perhaps Mr. "Where-Did-He-Come-From" becomes a threat tonight despite him not being happy with the car. If not, maybe he has a run in with Kyle Busch?

Brad Keselowski 

Another aggressive driver who will be the perfect darkhorse for Bristol. Ever since injuring his ankle, everything has gone right for Brad K. He has a win, a 2nd, and a 3rd. Let the momentum continue. I predict Brad K will place between 5th and 10th tonight, but a win isn't far-fetched. 

Risktakers

Denny Hamlin

Despite his bad luck at Bristol, I wouldn't touch him for fantasy based off his last four finishes: 27th, 15th, 36th, and 35th. He seems to be losing confidence, and like I said, he has bad luck at Bristol. I expected last week for him to shake out of his slump but I was wrong. Not taking that chance this week.

The Bristol night race is one of my favorite races to watch throughout the Sprint Cup Season. In fact, both races should be at night. The chaos and destruction is that much greater. 

You're probably wondering who I pick as the winner? Well, None of those drivers I listed aren't who I'm picking to win tonight. Instead, I'm rolling with Jeff Gordon. After all,  he is a five-time winner here, but it's just one man's opinion.

NOTE: I do NOT take credit for any of these photos.

Kerry Collins As A Colt: Big Deal?

It's official! The Colts signed a veteran QB and thankfully it wasn't Brett Favre. The sports world would NEVER forgive Colts owner Jim Irsay for such a move. Instead, The Colts turned to formerly retired QB, Kerry Collins, who last played for the Tennessee Titans. 

Collins threw 14 TD's to 8 INT's in seven games started  last year.

Throughout his productive career, Collins has thrown 206 TD's for 40,441 passing yards and made two Pro Bowl appearances. But his career isn't in question; The question would be is his signing a big deal? 

Let's be honest, it is not the apocalypse for the Indianapolis Colts. From what I've heard, all reports indicated that the concern for Peyton Manning was missing the regular season opener. That's just it: the regular season OPENER. 

Even if the Colts lose the opener, that surely doesn't mean the Colts postseason hopes are shattered. After all, the Colts lost their opener last year at the hands of the Houston Texans and still won their division. 

If anything, Fantasy owners should miss Peyton's production more than the fans. But as usual, its just one man's opinion.

NOTE: I do NOT take credit for this photo.

Countdown To The Chase: Michigan

Frantic pack racing while Kevin Harvick leads the way at Michigan.

With 4 Races to go, the Race to the Chase is heating up and the next stop for the Sprint Cup drivers is Michigan International Speedway.

This 2-mile track will be the last time the Cup drivers will race here until next June.

Michigan, just like the remainder of the races in the regular season, won't have drivers necessarily race for points. At this stage, it's all about race wins for the Chase.

Basically, your drivers in the Chase are just going for higher seeding when the points reset after Richmond. The more wins a driver has, the higher the driver will be placed in the points. Example would be if one won three races before the chase ,and that's the most out of anyone, that driver will be seeded first.

If not that, drivers gunning for the wildcard will come out firing for the this race and the remainder three. Drivers such as Clint Bowyer (who is winless) needs a win to get one of the two coveted wildcard spots. Denny Hamlin has a win, but two assures himself a spot.

Onto the picks...


Favorites


Matt Kenseth

Roush Fenway Racing are always good here at Michigan and Matt is apart of why. He has the second best average finish (behind Carl Edwards) among active drivers here at 9.5 in 24 starts. Matt was fastest in practice one and seventh in practice two. He has two wins here as well as, two wins on the season. Look for Matt to attempt to advance on his seeding by going for win No. 3 here and on the season.

Greg Biffle

The Biff is one of those drivers vying for a spot in the Chase and he desperately needs a win to have a chance at this point. Like his Roush teammate, he has an impressive resume at Michigan as well with two wins and an average finish of 12.4. He's been one of the best cars in practice. Because of those circumstances, I'm picking the #16 to take home the checkered flag.

Darkhorses


Denny Hamiln

Hamiln is also on the outside looking in with one win on the season, but he needs two to guarantee himself a lock. Hamiln won the first Michigan race this season and is a strong candidate for another. With Biffle and Kenseth standing out before the race, Hamiln is under radar.

Mark Martin

The savvy veteran hasn't had the 2011 he expected, but this is one of those tracks where Mark can capitalize in a big way. In 51 starts, Mark has 5 wins and a average finish of 13.5. Pretty impressive. Mark was in the top 5 in practice one as well as being the fastest in practice two. Indications tell me Mark has something in store for the field come tomorrow.

Kevin Harvick

Quietly, he and Kyle Busch lead the circuit with three wins on the season. He won this event last year leading 60 of the 200 laps. He's been up and down and Michigan, but then again, that's what makes him the perfect darkhorse candidate.

Risktakers


Jimmie Johnson

Now Jimmie isn't terrible at Michigan. In fact, if it wasn't for fuel mileage, he could have won a couple of races here. Instead, he is winless at Michigan. I expect that to continue.  Michigan is a track that has Jimmie's number here - even if he has a race winning car.

David Ragan

He is the only Roush Driver that I wouldn't pick. He only has two top 10's in nine starts here. Not impressive. In fact, he should be much better considering how good his teammates are at this track.


Tune in the Pure Michigan 400 at 1:00 EST on ESPN. I'm betting it'll be another race of lackluster cautions and fuel strategy, but as usual; it's just one man's opinion.



NOTE: I do NOT take credit for this photo.

Countdown To The Chase: Watkins Glen

                    An aerial view of Watkins Glen International

It is the final road course race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule as 43 teams, (and counting), visit Watkins Glen, New York.

Now considering there isn't a Road Course race in the Chase, there isn't much to prepare for except to WIN! Although Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, thinks otherwise. Click Link below for more details.

http://www.nascar.com/news/110812/jgordon-mhelton-road-course-chase/index.html

Qualifying is HUGE at road courses, but i'm prepared to make my predictions ahead of time. Plus, I'm going to be away all Saturday, so I have no choice.

Favorites

Marcos Ambrose

In his minimal starts at the track, the "Tasmanian Devil" has quite the track record to start off with. In three starts, Marcos has posted a 3rd, 2nd, and 3rd, which means for the rest of the field: Yikes! Marcos may finally be able to breakthrough and notch his first ever cup win. I, for one, give him a great chance. Besides, this year has been full of first time winners. Just ask Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, David Ragan, and Paul Menard. There's always room for one more.

Juan Pablo Montoya            

JPM celebrating his win here in 2010.

Like Ambrose, He is a road course "specialist." He is the defending race winner of this event while leading 74 of the 90 laps. JPM is 21st in the Sprint Cup Series Standings. If he wins this weekend, he moves into the top 20 with a win. Thus, making Juan eligible for the one of the two wild card spots. Simply put, this is the best shot he'll have attaining a Wild Card Chase spot.       

Tony Stewart

Stewart taking the checkered flag for his 5th win at The Glen.

Stewart is all-time wins leader in the Sprint Cup Series here with five. Not to mention, he has the second most laps led with 225. "Smoke" is clinging on for dear life in the top 10. The problem is, if he falls, Tony has no wins to fall back on this season. This is arguably his best track on the Sprint Cup Schedule. He hasn't looked great in practice but I feel if Stewart isn't able to be a contender for the win, he just might not make the Chase. It's desperation time and nobody knows that more than him.                   

Darkhorses

Carl Edwards

For a driver who isn't known as a road course racer, "Cousin Carl" has been consistently solid with an 8.2 average finish here in six starts. He is the point leader with just one win this season. Maybe Edwards sneaks and gets his first road course win in the Sprint Cup Series.

Denny Hamlin

Another driver who isn't known for his road course talents, but the #11 team was very satisfied with their Toyota friday afternoon. Reports from their stable say the car is "balanced".  Denny couldn't capitalize on his best track, being Pocono, last week. He is 11th in points, outside of the Chase top 10, with one win. If he can sneak up and notch his second win of the season, he assures himself a spot within the Chase.       

Jeff Gordon

Gordon hoisting his last trophy win in 2001.

His results have been unimpressive since his wheel-hop costing him another win in 2007. His last three starts resulted in an average finish of 25.3. Very uncharacteristic of Jeff Gordon when it comes to road course racing. He has four wins here, only trailing Stewart with the most wins. Ironically, Stewart drove to victory in 07 after his forgettable mishap. Gordon, towards the end of practice, became happier with his race car. He even tweeted that his car is a just a "few" adjustments away from being a top 5 car. 

RiskTakers

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

After a top 10 finish for Junior, he now heads to a track that he hates. With an average finish of 22.9, I'd take his word for it. He had one great run in 2008 when he led 33 of 90 laps and seemingly looked like the car to beat. I highly doubt, he has a similar race like such coming up on Sunday.

Matt Kenseth

Like Junior, he too isn't a fan of road course racing. In fact, he is against the idea of having a road course race in Chase. Heh; I wonder why? His average finish is okay: 15.7. The thing is once a driver has a mindset that he hates a particular track, he's almost always going to have a disappointing result. Both Matt and Junior just want to survive Sunday.

There are many others I wanted to mention like Kevin Harvick, who won here in 2006. Or even Jimmie Johnson, who has steadily gotten better at road course racing. There are also the road course ringers like Boris Said, Andy Lally, and Ron Fellows who will have a shot to steal a win for the boys back home.

In retrospect, there are more drivers who have a shot to win a road course race than say...at an oval or short track.   

Interesting fact though, if qualifying rains out, Tony Stewart has a 60% chance of winning on Sunday. Three of his five wins have come from qualifying being washed out.

As much of a pain as road course racing looks, I enjoy watching them. But as usual, its just one man's opinion.

NOTE: I do NOT take credit for any of these photos.

Countdown To The Chase: Pocono

            The Pocono Raceway Logo

Another week, Another Race, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series make a return stop to Pocono, Pa for the second and final time this season.

The Cup guys are fresh off last week's running of the Brickyard and are now visiting the track that draws comparisons to Indy, both of which are 2.5 mi tracks. So drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamiln ought to be glad right?

Hey, even throw Paul Menard into the mix considering he became a first-time winner last week by winning one of the most prestigious races on the Sprint Cup Schedule, that being the Brickyard.

Because the two tracks draw comparisons, the picks should be similar: Right? Right?

Favorites

Jeff Gordon

Jeff celebrating his 2nd win of 2011 burnout style in June's event.

It is only rightfully fair to start off with the driver who won here in June. Now you know the cliche  "Third time's the charm"; Well this expression seems to be appropriate for Gordon. Over the last two races, Jeff has shown to have the car to contend for the win. Unfortunately, he has nothing to show for it. Because of those circumstances, I'm picking Jeff Gordon to win tomorrow's race from the 31st starting spot. Even those winning at Indy would've been a great way to celebrate his 40th birthday, I'm sure Jeff won't mind another Pocono win.

Denny Hamiln

It is pretty safe to say Denny is one of the best drivers ever here at "The Tricky Triangle". Hamiln finished 19th in June while leading 76 laps. Don't be fooled by the finish as he was back there due to having to come back to pit road because of a flat tire. Denny is one of those drivers who need to solidify themselves in the Chase. This is a GREAT place for Hamlin to drive himself in seeing that he has 4 wins with the best average finish among the field: 9.2.

Kurt Busch

If it weren't for Team Dupont's awesome pit stop, maybe Kurt Busch is the one in the winners circle. Outside of Hamlin and Gordon, he had the most consistent car. Look for Kurt to be a threat to win his 2nd race of the season as Team #22 are clicking on all cylinders right now.

Darkhorses

Mark Martin

Now despite his struggles this season, Mark can be counted on in fantasy terms when it comes to racing at Pocono. Mark has always been stout at Pocono. He has Six Runner-ups with an average finish of 11.2 in 49 starts here. He looked very quick practice which is almost always a good sign. Maybe the savvy vet can get a much needed win for an otherwise disappointing last season with Hendrick Motorsports.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

It's an understatement to say Junior needs a break coming his way. Over his last six races, his best finish is a 15th at Loudon. Junior looked very solid at Indy last week; spending some time in the lead even. Unfortunately, he didn't get the finish he would like, which was a 16th. He has now dropped to 10th in the Sprint Cup Standings. Considering his last top ten finish was at Pocono, look for JuneBug to finally bounce back and salvage a much needed top ten finish.

Jimmie Johnson

JJ swept Pocono in 2004 for his only two wins at the 2.5 mile track, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be paid any attention to throughout the race. Johnson has demonstrated mad consistency here, posting finishes no worse than 13th in the last eight races. The Five-Time Champ wouldn't be a bad pickup here.

Risk Takers

Greg Biffle

The Biff placed 7th at Indy last week, but that's not how well he really ran as he was a 15th place car mainly. His performance was quite disappointing considering in an interview during Qualifying, Greg said he would be a contender for the race win. I guess he forgot to say "Sike!"  Greg has one top ten in the last ten races here. Ironic because he is the defending race winner of this event. Don't expect a repeat.

He is about the only risk taker as the only other option, Kyle Busch, has begun to turn it around at Pocono. 

Can Jeff Gordon be the first repeat winner here since 2006? Can Dale Jr. manage a much needed finish to avoid falling out of the Chase? 

I sure think so. But then again, its just one man's opinion.

Note: I do NOT take credit for any of these photos.